Apple fesses up to faulty iPod touch screens

It looks like those complaining of problems with the iPod touch's screen weren't seeing things, as Apple has now reportedly confirmed that at least some early units did indeed ship with defective screens. That bit of news comes at the tail end of a review of the player by none other than Walt Mossberg, who reports that Apple says the problem affected a "small number of units" and that it is "being remedied." Exactly what that remedy entails, however, is unclear, as is the exact number of units affected. In related news, there's also been a few unconfirmed reports cropping up of similarly dim screens on newer iPhones, with the problem seemingly traced to units released after the now infamous price cut. No word from Apple on that, but if your new iPhone's display looks a little off, feel free to let us know.

Read - Walt Mossberg's review
Read - Apple forum discussion of iPod touch / iPhone screens

[Via AppleInsider]

[Skin Freak @ Aug 18th 2009 6:11AM]

Great post on acne scars. Here's a free video by an expert dermatologist with some answers http://www.dermtv.com/how-remove-acne-scars

[poopdog @ Sep 20th 2007 4:08PM]

first post woot

[Nick @ Sep 20th 2007 4:25PM]

not even close

[Khris @ Sep 20th 2007 2:38PM]

I'm still excited to get my iPod Touch! If it has a bad screen, I'll send it back.

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 20th 2007 3:08PM]

Good video showing that the Touch screen is awful from ALL angles.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nYxlrsReUEU

[Nick @ Sep 20th 2007 4:24PM]

haha attack of the Apple haters! There must have been a mas message to all Apple haters telling them all to converge onto this page and low rank anyone with anything positive to say.

[Khris @ Sep 20th 2007 4:32PM]

I guess they're just jealous they can't afford the new toys like others can! :D

Whatever, if some pion has nothing better to do than low rank comments that have something positive to say, let them. Losers have to have fun too! :)

[GazzyC @ Sep 20th 2007 6:27PM]

I ranked yours as good, theres probably just too many know it all geeks online at once! Hmm low rank someone who said if they have a bad scraan they will send it back! Maybe they want to have a bad screen so they have something to complain about and give them an excuse to ignore their wives :-)

[Amarillo A-town @ Sep 20th 2007 7:47PM]

hey dumbass.... pion??? dont you mean peon??? you are so rich and smart you cant even spell. Also, you're right, we are all very jealous of your overpriced iJunk. I can't wait for Apple to start packaging dog turds so you sheep will buy them and tout your fecal Apple products as the most advanced shit ever created! WOOOOOHOOOOO!

[Khris @ Sep 20th 2007 7:56PM]

Hey Armadillo, please accept my most sincerest apologies for making a spelling mistake and ruining your day. After all, it is hard to type on a virtual keyboard.

I will chant 100 HAIL ARMADILLO's and whip myself 2000 times with a wet noodle. Please forgive me oh great Spelling Bee!

Perhaps you should consider investing in an iLife. You'll be interested to know that it also helps clear up teenage acne.

Now run along so you and your iPosse can be cool bashing Apple together!

[Amarillo A-town @ Sep 21st 2007 11:51AM]

So I see now that you can neither spell nor read. Amarillo.... it's a town, not an animal.

[Khris @ Sep 21st 2007 12:48PM]

Oh I can certainly read and I know where Amarillo is. I even know it's in Texas without having to look at a map!

Tell me where Quebec is (and I don't mean the province)? How about Edmonton? Victoria perhaps?

You're obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you were, you'd have known right away I was making fun of you.

Now go play in traffic.

[Don @ Sep 21st 2007 2:10PM]

"Hey Armadillo, please accept my most sincerest apologies for making a spelling mistake and ruining your day. "

Don't try to make this out as a keystroke error. You simply didn't know how to spell the word properly. "I" and "E" are 4 keys apart on different hands. Man up and accept that you used a word you've never seen in print, and that you (incorrectly) spelled it phonetically.

Courtesy, your friendly neighborhood spell-check Nazi.

[Khris @ Sep 21st 2007 2:39PM]

@ Don

Is that a gas chamber in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

[new0rder @ Sep 20th 2007 2:40PM]

how can I tell, is there a step by step testing procedure, I got one today, please let me know thanks.

[cagrino @ Sep 20th 2007 7:41PM]

Load this picture on your Touch. Get the large version of the pic.

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=a1kzlptzud9&thumb=4

The dark portions of the eye show that "black negative" effect, if you have a defective unit. My Touch definitely has it and it's going back to the Apple store tomorrow.

[GenericWhiteGuy @ Sep 20th 2007 3:00PM]

Just load up a movie with a dark scene or Wesley Snipes. If you look at the screen straight-on, you'll notice that areas of about 80% darkness will have a shimmering quality and lose all detail. If you tilt the top left corner away, some of the dark area detail will return.

[apeguero @ Sep 20th 2007 3:12PM]

Damn! Used to be Eddie Murphy or Charlie Murphy were the "Blackest Brothers in town" according to Charlie Murphy but now they have Wesley Snipes to fall back on. This was one of the funniest lines in the Charlie Murphy True Hollywood stories in Chappelle Show. Thanks for the memories GenericWhiteGuy. You just put a big Cool Aid smile on my face :)

[Player1 @ Sep 20th 2007 2:39PM]

How are you supposed to even be able to tell? With mine it looks great most of the time, but with some dark scenes you have to hold it at the slight angle to see things. But I have heard people claim that you definately see something is wrong if you have a bad screen. Hopefully Apple can identify the bad ones by serial numbers or something. Nice to hear they fessed up though.

[joe23521 @ Sep 20th 2007 2:49PM]

If you have to turn the screen to see the blacks, it's a defective unit. You should get it exchanged.

[DjFIL @ Sep 20th 2007 2:39PM]

thank goodness mine hasn't shipped yet... i guess.

[dj-kenpo @ Sep 20th 2007 2:39PM]

if apple wants to sell me one of those faulty screen units for $100 I'll gladly buy one. rather than just shoving them in the trash, sell them in the clearance store apple!!!

or tell me where the trash bin is and I'll go dig in it...

[Javi0084 @ Sep 20th 2007 2:46PM]

Wont they refurbish them?

[mdsbrain @ Sep 20th 2007 2:41PM]

Thankfully my iPod touch and my girlfriend's didn't come with a bad screen. They are great as Jobs announced they are.

[GazzyC @ Sep 20th 2007 6:31PM]

Haha will low rank you for being straight

[LJKelley @ Sep 20th 2007 2:42PM]

For being such a 'great' company, Apple sure does release alot of products with flaws especially the new iPod lineup.

[Reid Conti @ Sep 20th 2007 2:53PM]

Either that, or it's just more highly publicized when an Apple product is faulty (also, the fanboys raise hell about the smallest little thing, that other companies might be able to get away with).

Consumer Reports continually rates Apple quality and customer support at the top of all PC manufacturers; I don't see any reason to expect anything other than a relatively high ranking for consumer electronics as well.

There are lots of people on Engadget who like to complain that every story is about Apple; it only stands to reason that the same effect would be in play when it comes to reporting problems.

[Scooter @ Sep 20th 2007 2:59PM]

works both ways: apple gets way more coverage of new products than is probably merited (given the innovation, features and pricing of true competitors) but also gets a corresponding share of the negative coverage when things are proven bad.

[jessy @ Sep 20th 2007 3:08PM]

wait, didnt stuff like this cause apple to go nearly bankrupt oh... 10 years ago?

[david @ Sep 20th 2007 3:20PM]

Must be M$ fanboys who still don't believe there is a RROD.

[Jubei @ Sep 20th 2007 2:43PM]

My iPhone 8GB looks fine on dark scenes.

[lanejasper69 @ Sep 20th 2007 2:46PM]

Mine had issues, so they held me a new one since it was a 20mile drive to replace, new on looks fne....they will only hold if you have a bad device for no fault of your own.

Thanks,
Faslane

[Matthew @ Sep 20th 2007 2:46PM]

is apple's quality lacking lately? ...defective screens on ipod touch and some nano's, if I can recall well there were screen probs also on some macbook (/pros)
... or is it that apple stuff going wrong just makes more news than from other hardware manifactureres?

[Brad @ Sep 20th 2007 2:54PM]

I think there has been a bit of a falloff in Apple quality of late. Maybe they're growing too quickly, maybe they're over-extending their reach, but products shipping without an OS, numerous reports of poor quality production?

These are the things that hurt Dell so badly, and they had 15x the customer base Apple had.

[rp @ Sep 20th 2007 3:39PM]

Apple products have always had quality problems, hate to tell ya. You're just an Apple newb. Thing is, now people are actually buying their products, so they get to experience them. Whether or not there are more than before is impossible to tell for just that reason.
Proof? OK!


Early G3s - Defective HDs
3rd? gen iMacs - Defective fans
Early G5s - Defective logic boards
Powerbook 3400 - If yours didn't die for some reason, that was a miracle in itself

[Kawai @ Sep 20th 2007 5:29PM]

Add:

iBook G3/G4 - Defective Display Hinge, Battery problems

[Pete @ Sep 20th 2007 7:57PM]

Add failing MacBook hardrives to the list too.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4782134

[Mark @ Sep 20th 2007 2:51PM]

I purchased a second iPhone after the price cuts and the screen was exactly like what everyone is describing about the touch. I took it back a couple days after getting it and the employee told me apple has two screen manufacturers and if he allowed me to exchange it there is no guarentee the new one won't look the same. Luckily he allowed me to exchange it for a new one and the screen is better. It just bothered me that the employee was refusing to admit the obvious problem with the screen calling it normal... even though I had my other iPhone right there comparing the two. This was on Sunday... the next day I saw the news about the touch's screen and had to let it be known that this is not limited to just the new iPod.

Sent from my iPhone

[Andrew Davidson @ Sep 20th 2007 2:48PM]

For the people wondering if they have the problem, have a read through this (very long) thread from apple's discussion site. There are various links (particuarly near the bottom) that highlight and test the screen. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1131324

[Scott @ Sep 20th 2007 2:59PM]

Yeah, nobody torture your self trying to load dark movies and trying to guess if you have a good screen. Just follow the link mentioned above and look for the link to the grey scale page. all your looking for is to ensure the left black box is darker than the one after it, if it is then you are fine.
all reports coming in are that apple fixed this, all shipping ipod touches today should be good to go....also they changed the box art back to Macy Grey

[Player1 @ Sep 20th 2007 2:50PM]

I'm thinking mine does have a bad screen. Some people on the forums were using this clip as a benchmark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyP8kEiHKxA (Silence of the Lambs Scene 2). I know on mine it looks like crap, and only looks somewhat decent if you turn it slightly up and left. Though it's a really dark scene.

[Jon @ Sep 20th 2007 2:52PM]

Speaking of faulty screen images, hows a bout finding a photo of the touch that wasn't originally grabbed from a cmyk image?
http://images.apple.com/ipodtouch/images/hero_overview_20070905.png
for correct color temperature.

[joe23521 @ Sep 20th 2007 3:07PM]

It's the fact that blacks appear inverted, making humans look like ghosts in the process. It's not a color temperature issue. From what I saw, the color reproduction is actually pretty good.

I bought one from Best Buy last Friday and it took the horrifying screen, among with other small bugs, for me to realize that I'm much better off saving the $400 dollars and waiting for the next generation with fewer problems and more features and storage.

[Michael Roma @ Sep 20th 2007 3:04PM]

My Iphone has something wrong with the screen, it is the same thing that everyone is complaining about with their touchs. I went to apple in soho and the guy there told me there is nothing he could do and it looked like it was the way i was perceiving it, and there was nothing wrong with my iphone. I still have the same iphone and I am not sure what to do now. Since apple was no help to me.

[wei @ Sep 20th 2007 3:17PM]

The folks at SoHo for some reason are really arrogant, condescending jerks. I went through an exchange and finally a full-refund on my ipod touch. They gave me a bit of trouble both times. But I just insisted and pressed the issue. They caved in the end, but I was not pleased. IF i decide to replace my ipod touch, I'll be getting it elsewhere.

[CharlieX @ Sep 20th 2007 2:58PM]

Bound to happen.... My girlfriend works for a company that has 97% of their product made in China, Taiwan, or similar. They're notorious for trying to slip cheaper components in or moving the line along at a pace where QC is thrown out the window. Nothing like a container full of defective product coming off the boat when the samples they originally sent were exactly to your specs.

[Kevin @ Sep 20th 2007 3:00PM]

Notice that the ever-blabbering Mac Bigots are completely absent.

[Brooks @ Sep 20th 2007 3:06PM]

And the ever-blabbering Mac Haters are in full force

[Mac Bigot @ Sep 20th 2007 3:13PM]

We are tired. We really are. Its just too much.

We dont have as much stamina as all you brown-nosing sheep. No matter how many times apple slaps you with their disappointment dildo, you keep asking for more.

We dont know how you do it.

[Kevin @ Sep 20th 2007 3:42PM]

I don't hate Macs, I don't hate PCs, either. I just wish the overzealous fanboys on both sides would just shut the hell up and enjoy the technology for what it is. Who cares if the logo is Fruit or Fenestra... People should just chill out and have fun with it, without being an ass.